Olivia and I made a rather quick trip up to the Cincinnati, Ohio area this past weekend to celebrate my twin cousin’s 21st birthdays on Saturday night. The day after the celebration, we were able to hit up Kings Island for a few hours before catching our return flight home. Although both of us have visited the park multiple times prior to this trip, we were extremely excited to get the opportunity to ride Kings Island’s newest giga coaster called Orion. Take a look at the recap of our afternoon visit below:
After a quick breakfast at our hotel just north of Cincinnati, we were on our way and parked in time for the 11am opening. After entering the park and immediately grabbing our Fast Lane Plus wristbands that we purchased for the afternoon ($115), the employees dropped the rope containing the crowds, and we were on our way to our first attraction.
Luckily, the crowds were very minimal and made for an excellent day. Pairing this with our Fast Lane Plus and a questionable weather forecast (one that was getting better and better by the minute), we basically had the place to ourselves. Even as someone who loves theme parks as much as myself, I am not a fan of crowds and standing in long lines, and I know firsthand how this can ruin an otherwise enjoyable experience. So it was great to not have to deal with any of that this afternoon, and our time in the park was very relaxing and we were able to move around at our own pace.
Of course, the first ride of the day had to be Orion. This was the majority of the reason for our trip out to the park, so we decided to head straight there upon rope drop. We were able to get two rides on this beast of a coaster, our first in the back and our second in the front. While both were excellent, both of us preferred the front row on Orion. The sense of speed on these giga coasters is absolutely ridiculous, almost to the point where it makes keeping your eyes open difficult. The whip over the first drop is phenomenal in the back, but I would say the front is superior on just about every other element. The front right in particular; soaring over the second 174 foot tall banked wave turn/airtime hill feels incredible in that particular seat. It’s hard not to compare this coaster to the other B&M gigas, and for me, I would say it falls just in between Levi and Fury. They are all great coasters, but I have to give the edge to Fury for its extended length. I also immensely enjoyed Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland, but I would rank it just slightly below Orion for its somewhat less impressive setting.
Next up we decided to hit Flight of Fear as it was directly adjacent to Orion. Olivia didn’t remember this coaster from our last trip, so we definitely made a point to ride this time around. Sadly, this coaster has aged poorly in the last few seasons, as there was some intense shuffling throughout the course, causing a good amount of discomfort. I usually have a high tolerance for bumpy rides, but I have to say this one was pretty bad and I definitely don’t remember it being this shaky the last time I rode just a few years back. Could very well be a simple maintenance issue, but this is a coaster we will probably skip on our next visit.
After a quick hydration break we were on the hunt for our next ride, and we landed on two nearby flats, the Antique Cars and the Windseeker. The cars were a recent addition the park (after removing them years ago), but a great one at that. Such a timeless & family-friendly attraction that is always well-received, I am glad they decide to bring these back. It was a fun coast through a nicely themed area that included some great interaction from Racer and other nearby attractions. A big thumbs up from us on this one. In regards to Windseeker, we have done plenty of these rides before, and KI’s wasn’t much different. A nice, comfortable bird’s eye view of the park, this ride is much more tolerable than the screaming swings at Six Flags parks. Those rides are absolutely terrifying, but I still keep riding them for whatever reason. Go figure…
Heading back towards the center of the park, we noticed Backlot Stunt Coaster had no one in it’s fast lane queue, so we decided to give it a try. Olivia swears she did not remember this coaster either, but we were both pleasantly surprised by this one. It was smooth, had a nice intense launch, all of the special effects were working, and we just genuinely had a great time riding. The sleeper hit of the day for us for sure, I’m glad we took the time to ride.
Next up was the infamous Beast lurking in the back right corner of the park. We were unable to get a night ride on this legendary coaster, but our daytime ride was quite entertaining. Not as good as at night unfortunately, but we had a hoot bouncing around the woods and bracing ourselves at every turn. It is a fun ride, but it is definitely showing it’s age. Particularly in the double helix tunnel, which kinda feels like a minor car crash if I’m being completely honest. Olivia was essentially forced into my lap from the inside seat and I was yelling and screaming bloody murder, so overall a pretty successful ride! Definitely try to grab a non-wheel seat on this coaster (middle of each car), as they seats over the wheels can be even more viscous.
It was time to get off our feet and find some sustenance, so we made a break for the nearby Miami River Brewing Company to try and beat the midday lunch rush. After ordering our meal, we found two nice seats at the bar area near the back right corner of the restaurant. Being KI’s newest dining offering, we were impressed by this location, as our meal was tasty, service was fast, and best of all, the A/C was flowing gratuitously. We spent about an hour here recharging our batteries and taking in the ambiance. I would highly recommend this spot for future visits.
After rallying ourselves again for the heat and humidity, there were two coasters (nearby) that we wanted to get rides on: Mystic Timbers and Diamondback. Starting with the former, we got two rides on this fantastic GCI woodie; one in the middle of the train and one in the very front. Both were absolutely incredible and just as good as our previous rides in years past. Strong airtime throughout, relentless pacing, and an overall sense of misdirection–this is one of our all-time favorites.
Heading right next door to Diamondback, we were able to get two walk-on rides, one in the back and one in the front. This is a solid hyper, and one that I thoroughly enjoy riding, but I definitely prefer the front on this coaster as well. The airtime is similar between the two, but the back unfortunately has a pretty decent rattle that does take away from the experience just the slightest bit. I wouldn’t say this coaster is rough by any stretch, but compared to some of the other B&M hypers that are a good deal older, this one is a bit perplexing. The layout is phenomenal though and I love the splashdown finale–super unique for this coaster type.
Since it was getting a bit hotter, we decided to find some more of that precious A/C. We stumbled into the beautiful Festhaus closer to the front of the park, and were able to find a spot to sit down and rest for a few minutes. This is another dining location I would highly recommend, as they seem to have a few decent options and plenty of open seating for larger groups. My one complaint, the beer choices are somewhat minimal for a German Festhaus. Not a big deal as they have a newer “beer garden” just a couple hundred feet from the entrance, just something to note if you are looking for a drink nearby.
After getting our legs under us again, we ventured back out into the afternoon humidity for a ride on Banshee. This is a beast of an invert, and even though I am not the biggest fan of the vest restraints this coaster utilizes, this attraction is very enjoyable and quite re-rideable. We only took one lap this time around, but we sat in the front and had a blast whipping through the graceful elements on this B&M masterpiece. I do also love the theming and color scheme on this coaster, as it has a nice creepy vibe and the purple really pops against the color of the trains and supports.
Racer was up next, and we were pleasantly surprised by the recent track-work that the park has put into this coaster. In addition to some re-work they did on the turnarounds a few years back, this past offseason saw continued work on the first drop and subsequent airtime hills. This first section was tremendously smooth and greatly improved the ride experience overall, allowing us to even get some good floater air heading over the first few bunny hops. It has turned a rather painful experience into an overwhelmingly positive one, and I hope to see other parks take the same amount of care with their aging (yet historic) woodies that KI has done here. Another pleasant surprise for the day.
Of course, our last ride of the afternoon had to come on Orion. We finished up with another front row ride, and after five hours of the coaster warming-up, this lap was by far the fastest and most intense. It’s quite a mystery to me how negative some individuals were about this ride when it was announced, but I’m hoping all of those incorrect thoughts were put to bed as soon as Orion debuted. It truly is a world-class coaster and an excellent addition to Kings Island.
Since we had about thirty minutes until we needed to hit the road for the airport, we decided to head up to the top of the Eiffel tower for a unique angle on the park. This was my first time venturing up any Paramount/Cedar Fair/Six Flags observation deck, so it was really cool to see the park from such a high vantage point. I was able to get some excellent shots of all the surrounding coasters, in addition to enjoying the nice breeze that cooled us off. A great way to finish our visit.
That’s all I’ve got for our day at Kings Island, we had an amazing time and can’t wait to come back. Only a close second behind Cedar Point, this is for sure one of the best Cedar Fair parks in the chain (actually, one of the best parks overall in the country) and it absolutely deserves all the love it receives. In a uncertain world that’s full of shady business practices, terrible customer service, and understaffed locations, Kings Island met and exceeded all of our expectations, and it has firmly cemented itself as an elite regional theme park in the midwestern United States.
– Walker
Texas-Ranger Travels 